Virgen Perez, left, and her husband, Nelson Rodriguez, look around their home, which was flooded by Superstorm Sandy in Atlantic City, N.J., on Oct. 30. / AP

Karl Schwechheimer

The roller coaster from an amusement park rests in the Atlantic Ocean in Seaside Heights, N.J., after the region was pounded by Superstorm Sandy. / AP

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CRESTLINE — Karl Schwechheimer didn’t go to Atlantic City for a vacation.

Schwechheimer, 56, is part of the American Red Cross disaster relief efforts assisting victims of Hurricane Sandy in Somerset, New Jersey.

“This is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” he said.

He described a scene of total devastation with homes and vehicles destroyed.

“I’ve been on relief efforts in Marion and Morrow counties with flooding and in southeast Ohio last spring. But I have never seen anything like this,” Schwechheimer said. “It looks like pictures I’ve seen of war zones. There are vehicles inside homes and it’s just unbelievable.”

Schwechheimer said the response from residents in central New Jersey has been amazing.

“People have been very responsive and appreciative of the Red Cross and what they are doing,” he said. “There are some great stories of people helping each other.”

Citizens are getting involved to help neighbors in a heartwarming display of unity, he said.

“People are given two items and some say no I just need to take one,” he said.

His role is to help with distribution of personal items, whether through a site or by driving through neighborhoods in search of those in need.

Schwechheimer will head to Atlantic City to assist residents before concluding his two-week stay on Thursday.

“I know that it’s worse there along the coast than in central New Jersey,” he said. “The loads there are emptied out quickly.”

Initially most of the damage he saw was lost power to homes and trees down on property.

Schwechheimer is the lone Crawford County resident there. Residents from north central Ohio have been joined by American Red Cross volunteer teams from Florida, Canada and Mexico.

“There are 5,800 volunteers here on the ground. The population of Crestline is about 5,000,” he said.